Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 18 December 2007.#Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic.#Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Public procurement - Infringement of Article 6(3) of Directive 93/36/EC - General principles of the Treaty - Principle of equal treatment and obligation of transparency - National rules allowing use of the negotiated procedure for public supply contracts relating to certain medical equipment.#Case C-481/06.

Subject of the case

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Infringement of Article 6(3) of Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts (OJ 1993 L 199, p. 1) and of the obligation to ensure effective and fair competition – National provision placing all material for medical use into categories and setting a specific maximum price for each category – Provision forming part of a legislative framework which allows use of the negotiated procedure for public supply contracts in respect of whole groups of products of that nature which are not comparable.

Operative part

Operative part

The Court:

1. Declares that, by retaining in force Article 7(2) of Law 2955/2001 relating to the ‘Supplies of hospitals and other health units of regional health and pension schemes and other provisions’ and Joint Ministerial Decisions DY6a/oik.38611 and DY6a/oik.38609 of 12 April 2005, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 6(3) of Council Directive 93/36/EEC of 14 June 1993 coordinating procedures for the award of public supply contracts, as amended by Commission Directive 2001/78/EC of 13 September 2001 and has infringed general principles of the Treaty, in particular equal treatment and the obligation of transparency;

2. Orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.